Quest_GWM: Session #5 Paolo Ruffino

Hello everyone! We are an interdisciplinary research and knowledge-exchange hub dedicated to exploring the role of the Humanities in contemporary video game studies, production, and culture. Developed as a pilot initiative through collaboration between leading research centres in Portugal, the project seeks to bridge academic research, creative practice, and societal engagement in the digital space. Our work on gaming intersects with wide inquiries, including — but not exclusive to — Anglophone and Lusophone cultures and histories, the study of traditional media, contemporary storytelling, and other digital media platforms. By foregrounding critical perspectives from the Humanities — cultural, political, economic, and ethical — we aim to contribute to the responsible and sustainable development of the video game sector in all its facets. Particular emphasis is placed on dissemination, public engagement, and impact, ensuring that research outcomes circulate beyond academia and meaningfully engage wider audiences. As such, we position ourselves as a collaborative hub, open to partnerships with institutions, organisations, and individuals at national and international levels, reinforcing the Humanities as an essential interlocutor in the evolving digital landscape. In this video, livestreamed on June 12th of 2026, on Twitch, we had the presence of Paolo Ruffino. Paolo Ruffino is a Senior Lecturer in Digital Curation and Computational Creativity at the department of Digital Humanities, King’s College London. His research explores the aesthetics and production cultures of videogames. He is the author of Unplayable: Videogames for the Post-Anthropocene (MIT Press, forthcoming) and Future Gaming: Creative Interventions in Video Game Culture (Goldsmiths Press 2018). He is the editor of Independent Videogames: Cultures, Networks, Techniques and Politics (Routledge 2021) and author of articles for Games and Culture, Convergence, Television and New Media, and Critical Studies in Media Communication. He is a founding member of the artist group IOCOSE.